Homeade "Minute Wine" Questions

So I'm making wine in my dorm dresser out of Minute Maid products(please don't ask me if I'm selling any or if I am what the money's for). I currently have 11 gallon-sized water jugs which have been fermenting for 13 days today. 4 are filled with Tropical Punch, 4 with regular Fruit Punch, and 3 with Lemonade. All jugs have been sanitized with bleach and rinsed out very thoroughly prior to beginning. I am using bakers yeast, as no other type is available. All jugs are sealed with plastic bag pieces rubber-banded over top. Since my budget is limited, all ingredients and equipment excluding the yeast were purchased at the Appalachian State University markets with my account card.

I call my creation "Minute Wine" since I use Minute Maid juice and cause it takes a short time to make compared to professional quality wine. I already drank one of the lemonades(I had 4 to start out with) for a frat party on Friday, though it certainly wasn't close to finished.

First some background: my initial experiment was with just 1 gallon of tropical punch. I let it ferment for 6 days before trying it. Realizing that it had an effect similar in strength to strong beer, I considered the experiment a success and drank it all by the next day, so I never figured out how long it would go till it finished. I began my first big batch directly after the RAs Health and Safety inspection was done. They didn't even look in my dresser, so I'm not worried. And even if perchance some authority figure does look in there, all they'll see is bubbling fruit juice and unless they have some knowledge of alcohol production, they won't know anything. As far as I can tell, I'm the first to have this idea though I know I couldn't really be.

For the big batch I have going on now, I added a little sugar to each jug before the juice went in, using a half-pound divided evenly between them. I tasted the Tropical Punch today and it has an effect like regular wine, though not the same kick. Only the Fruit Punch smells and tastes like real wine, though it doesn't have much of a kick yet either.

My questions are: When should fermentation be done for each of them? I'm pretty sure the yeast will die from the alcohol content(at around 12%) before they run out of sugar or nutrients. It's worth noting that the Tropical Punch started bubbling days before the others, so that's likely all I'll use from now on. Also, should I wait until it's done bubbling or will this eventually cause it to go bad? Most jugs have had some exposure to air, for periodic tasting and to fill them closer to the top after the initial burst of fermentation, but not before having enough alcohol content as far as I know to kill foreign bacteria.

Any other tips/suggestions are certainly welcome, just keep in mind my budget witch is extremely limited for now. I don't want to siphon these to remove the dead yeast, but I'll probably run them through some type of filter before returning them to their original containers.

Tip 1: Post in the correct forum.

Wine Making Forum

man, there is so much to reply to here, it's hard to start anywhere other than telling you that you need to read up on fermentation a little before you expect others to explain the basics to you (i don't mean to be rude, but everyone has a responsibility to do some background research before mixing sugar and yeast). howtobrew.com is a good place to start, i would concentrate on the role of using a hydrometer (it doesn't cost much at all) to determine how to calculate alcohol percentage since that seems to be of greatest importance to you at this point.

You should really look into everclear if you are just looking for a cheap drunk. Homebrewing has a habit of getting way more expensive than you mean it to be.

Hmm...thanks for the tip but I know the basics very well. I've been researching this online for many years and I even brewed beer successfully once with products and advice from a home brew store and some help from my mother. It's just that it's way more trouble than I want to go through(for an inferior product in my opinion) and I couldn't bring any of my equipment like my carboy and hydrometer to my dorm. I even have a bottle capper that I never used cause I didn't bottle it, just drank it. I don't really like beer too much anyway though I am part German, it makes me vomit even while really high and isn't really that potent compared to anything else. I'll save drinking a lot of beer for next time I'm in Hof, Bavaria at the Oktoberfet or the Volksfest. Good times, good memories...

Oh yeah and Everclear once gave me a chemical burn in my mouth at a party. Potent, sure, but not for me thanks.

By inferior, I'm sure you mean a lower percent of alcohol. Have you tried adding white cane sugar to the juice?

minute maid is mostly high fructose corn syrup.....it wont come out well in a wine. You should use 100 percent fruit juice

I also know what jenkem is, it was recommended to me during my last post years ago, Clearer Liquid. By inferior, I mean lower alcohol and worse taste. My stuff now tastes great in the opinion of me and my buddies.

I would use pure fruit juice, but that's not currently within my budget. If there was an unguarded fruit tree around that I knew of I would be in luck, but unfortunately this is not the case.

OK, first the props. While it will frustrate the heck out of most of the members here, good on you. I wish I had thought of doing something like this in my freshman dorm. It would have saved a ton of cash instead of overpaying upperclassmen to hook me up. I like the initiative.

Now the not-so-props. If you and your buddies like the taste of what you're making, so be it. But it's incredibly bad form to come into a homebrewing site and call a product we all are incredibly proud of inferior. I knew nothing about good beer/wine/liquor at 19. Without wanting to sound like a total a$$, your comments make it sound like you don't either. That's fine. But I hope you realize you are backhandedly insulting those you are asking for help.

The advice. As somebody previously stated, most of these drinks are made primarily with high fructose corn syrup which will fully ferment. That means if you let it go full course, you will be left with a high alcohol content, but an incredibly dry and non-sweet beverage. I promise you, if you don't like the taste of beer, this will be much worse.

You ask how much longer should you wait and how much abv is actually in the drink? There is no way for us to answer without a recipe which actually gives sugar content of said juice. Even then, it would only be a guess. Plus, you're using bakers yeast which is very unpredictable and IT is inferior. Yes it'll get the job done.

Do yourself a favor if you truly want to continue and go to a homebrew shop. I appreciate the budget issues, but youll only need to spend a couple bucks Buy a hydrometer (around $10) and buy some dry yeast. The packets are only around $2 and you will be much more likely to be happy with the product. Plus, brewer's yeasts are more predictable in terms of timetable. With a good yeast like Safale US-05, fermentation should finish up within a week. If you want to stop it early, pour into a two liter bottle and stick it in the fridge. This will stop fermentation and allow some residual sweetness.

This is all assuming, of course, that you are over the age of 21. If not, don't try this again until you are. OK, disclaimer stated, a$$ covered. Good luck.

Cimire has a good point, sorry if I offended anybody. And it's not that I don't like the taste of beer, I drink it occasionally and I've tried many different kinds. It's just that I like the taste of fruit juice better, that's all. I knew that the corn syrup will ferment, but I also read that bakers yeast will die as the solution reaches 12% alcy, presumably before all the sweetness is gone.

And I've also had different kinds of wine, and my experience has been that most are not sweet and perhaps slightly bitter, with little taste. Is this right or is the wine my grandma serves with dinner just not very good or even spoiled?

(On second thought, nothing constructive to say)

Without knowing what type of wine grandma serves, I'm not about to tell you she's serving spoiled wine. No, many wines are not sweet (none that I like are sweet, anyways). I'll be honest when I say I've never had a bitter wine. Tannins can make your mouth pucker, but bitter is not a flavor common in wine.

The one thing that separates the wine you've had before and the "wine" you are making now, is that commercial (or craft) wine is made from very select grapes for a certain flavor profile with no artificial sugar added. Fermentation of this results in a very complex flavor profile that can be heightened or altered by the addition of certain chemicals and storage in certain containers. Your wine is fermenting on the strength solely of pure sugar. This is not complex, nor flavorful. It will ferment out completely dry - a type of dry you don't get with traditional grape (or other pure fruit) wines.

As to baker's yeast... you say that you've read it will die off as the abv approaches 12%. This doesn't sound outside the realm of reality. And again, this is a guess because I don't have exact sugar content, but I would be very surprised if a 12% abv brew of any sort had much in the way of residual sweetness. The problem is, baker's yeast isn't truly monitored and tested in alcoholic environments. It's not designed to perform in that manner with any consistency from batch to batch. The needs of yeast to raise dough are very short term. The needs for yeast to ferment alcohol are, on a relative scale, much longer term. Yeast health, population, and mutations are key to successful and predictable alcohol fermentation. This is a long way of saying, one packet of baker's yeast could well stand up to 12%, while the next may die at 4% - and it is very possible even if you got two batches that both went to...say 9%, they could taste very different.

So again, I go back to this. If your ONLY intent is to make an alcoholic beverage, knock yourself out with baker's yeast - but be aware that you're not going to be able to really say for certain how long it will take or how it will taste, batch to batch. BUT, if you would like to make a tasty beverage with consistency and be able to fine tune your process to get exactly the product you want, use the yeast that was intended to do the job. If you're making such small batches, one packet (like I said ~$2) should work for 5 different containers of the size you're talking about.

As to wine with no taste... Again, I don't know Grandma so I'm not about to dis her chioce of wine. However, I can tell you there are wines that I love and wines that I hate. But I feel the way I do about both types because of the taste. I've never had a wine I feel has little taste. Unless you're talking about wine that she makes at home, I would bet your palate just needs a bit more experience. And if she IS making her own wine, why the heck are you asking us and not making some batches with granny???

Welcome to the board. I hope you take the suggestions to heart.

(Deleted)

She doesn't make her own wine, just buys mostly German varieties.
Yes I definitely would like to get some better yeast when I get the chance. I need to find out exactly how to get to the High Country Homebrewers Association and walk there when I have some free time.

CaptainCoconut said:

---removed 'cause we got it sorted out ---

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I didn't mean to put you on the spot. I thought that maybe I had said something false and you felt I was giving off wrong information. The last thing I want to do is steer somebody wrong.

I agree with you in spirit. But in terms of the brewing sections of this board (the drunken ramblings and debate sections are totally different story), I'm trying to take a positive approach in my responses lately. I know that when I first came here, I thought I knew a lot more than I did. And I know that I had a ton of questions many find silly. Some people called me out, but most helped me through my questions. I figure it's easy to write somebody off as a brewing heathen. But if I can convert just one lost soul... Or at the very least, help somebody...

At any rate, didn't mean to call you out.

No problem, I can see how my first post could be misinterpreted.

What you just said is why I deleted my first post, I didn't see anything constructive coming from it. I figured I should either be constructive or keep my mouth shut. Since I have no desire to help this guy out with his "fundraiser" or whatever, I'll just keep my mouth shut.

beginner said:

She doesn't make her own wine, just buys mostly German varieties.
Yes I definitely would like to get some better yeast when I get the chance. I need to find out exactly how to get to the High Country Homebrewers Association and walk there when I have some free time.

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Without knowing anything about HCHA, I would suspect that the reception you'd get there is similar to here. Homebrew associations by and large are there to support and promote craft brewing. You may like what you're making now, but I think we can agree fermenting in a dresser doesn't qualify as craft brewing.

On top of that, if they are anything like my homebrew association, you'd have to be 21 to be a member. Homebrewers are an easy target. The last thing a brewing association would want to get caught up in is a "contributing to the delinquency of a minor" rap. And hey, if you're 21, go for it. I'm just saying.

If you can't get to a homebrew store, I would recommend an online shop. My favorite is Austin Homebrew. The shipping cost is $8 flat rate. You could buy all the supplies you need if you can't get to a store.

CaptainCoconut said:

No problem, I can see how my first post could be misinterpreted.

What you just said is why I deleted my first post, I didn't see anything constructive coming from it. I figured I should either be constructive or keep my mouth shut. Since I have no desire to help this guy out with his "fundraiser" or whatever, I'll just keep my mouth shut.

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To do my part, I've deleted your quote in my post.

beginner said:

Also, why are you saying I'm only interested in alcohol to get drunk quick? Yes I acknowledge that alcohol is important to any product discussed on this forum, but your statement sounds like a stereotype to me.
You're the ignorant, immature person here man, sorry.

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beginner said:

I don't really like beer too much anyway though I am part German, it makes me vomit even while really high and isn't really that potent compared to anything else.

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I deleted my posts, and you're going to call me ignorant and immature?

beginner said:

And to captaincoconut: everything I say here I say to learn something otherwise I wouldn't post anything at all. I've been wondering why some wine I try isn't favourable to my pallet, whether it's spoiled or not, now I know. As for the yeast, I'm no chemist(and I'm willing to bet you're not either), but I've done plenty of research in the subjects of yeast nutrients, fermentable sugars and yeast types which is why I even chose Minute Maid over other types of juice which have fermentation-stopping preservatives. Also, why are you saying I'm only interested in alcohol to get drunk quick? Yes I acknowledge that alcohol is important to any product discussed on this forum, but your statement sounds like a stereotype to me.
You're the ignorant, immature person here man, sorry.

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Come on man. Stereotype... Maybe? But you admitted to drinking what you described as a gallon jug of your wine for a party on a Friday night. I don't know anybody that drinks a gallon of wine in a night for the flavor. And you said that in addition to taste, you weren't a huge beer fan because it's not as potent as other stuff out there. There's nothing wrong with that, but you gotta call 'em like you see 'em.

And despite the fact we're talking about beer/wine/mead on this forum, alcohol is not nearly as important as you may think to most here. Sure we love the side effect, but if we never got drunk again, most of us would still brew because we love the craft.

I totally missed the half-joke you posted originally about selling your wine. On a serious note, I'd go back and delete that portion of your post. Selling homebrew is a serious deal if you get caught. Remote possibility, I know. But posting on a public website your intentions.... You're opening yourself up to attention you don't need. Do what you want. Just giving you a heads up.

Here's some answers:
1) If you're not bottling, don't worry too much about when fermentation's done, especially not if you like some sweetness. The main problem with incomplete fermentation is that the CO2 build-up in the bottle can cause bottle-bombs. If you're pouring directly from your fermentation vessel (plastic bottle), then you don't have to worry about this. Just wait until the bubbling stops, the yeast cake settles, and then wait a day or two more, and then drink.
2) If you want to sample, just remove your airlock, pull your sample, and then put the airlock back quickly. Yes, the alcohol might not be high enough to kill all bacteria, but the yeast colony will likely out-compete any introduced bacteria. Long story short: don't worry about infections too much, especially if you drink it as soon as it's done fermenting.
3) One tip: get some Starsan or another sanitizer and use it. This can really, really help.

Some off-topic notes:
1) Why all the hate in this thread? We're all brewers here. RDWHAHB.
2) RAs were undergrads once. Also, you're going to Appalachian State University. As much as I hate to stereotype, I'd be willing to bet that at least one of your RAs has some personal experience with ad-hoc alcohol production. Be careful, man.

Growing up in the boonies with a grape arbor and not much access to actual wine yeasts I can say we made hundreds if not thousands of gallons of grape wine with bakers yeas. it was consistent enough to be very popular as my dad gave it away at every opportunity.
I still once in a while have folks ask me if I make wine like my dad used to. It is plenty posssible to meet you objectives with bakers yeast.
One thing I would say is get a hydrometer sonyiu can shoot for about 11 percent so you won't stress you yeast with too high of a sugar content at the start. You can sweeten it after fermentation.

Oh ASU, good memories there. My fiance just graduated from there and her brother goes there now. That being said, you guys do some crazy crap up there in the mountains.

If you're going to use yeast, do yourself a favor and order some brewer's yeast online somewhere. If you only get a packet then you should be good to reuse it amongst your other bottles.

This thread seems totally ridiculous to me now, but I too dreamed of making mead in my dorm room. Never did it though. When you become of legal drinking age, you will love it. Until then, I would suggest talking to your older friends as opposed to making prison wine in your dresser.

beginner said:

...it makes me vomit even while really high...

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How did you drink the beer without bottling it? Just put a straw in the fermenter? I'd imagine you'd have to be really high to drink 6.5 gallons of beer, and it makes sense that you would vom too.

The only rule pertaining to regular users on the HBT site states:
"Forum Rules & Agreements

YOU MUST BE OF LEGAL AGE TO PRODUCE HOME BREW IN YOUR STATE/COUNTRY TO REGISTER AND READ THIS FORUM. BY AGREEING TO THESE TERMS YOU ACKNOWLEDGE YOU ARE. "

For some reason I'm betting you're not... As far as producing high alcohol content "wine" with baker's yeast to sell to underage drinkers, I think the best advice you're going to get is stop before you get yourself in some serious trouble.

I don't recommend or endorse underage drinking.


But if I were fermenting fruit juices to drink in a dorm room . .

I would go with a champagne yeast like Lalvin's EC-1118. It has a wide temperature range for fermentation, relatively neutral on fermentation flavors, and it ferments out dry (high attenuation) to 18% so you have plenty of headroom for adding sugar (honey? brown sugar? molasses? corn syrup?) to jack up the alcohol content.










Oh, you don't by any chance have a freezer in your dorm room, do you?

Yeah, that's a really bad idea.

I drank from the fermenter by just putting a glass under the tap and pouring it. Of note, I mostly drank it in the form of Radler (mixed with coke) or speitze (mixed with sprite).

And please don't come here saying to quit or it's illegal or whatever...I know exactly what I'm doing...I appreciate the concern, but it's also not constructive in the least.

As far as sweetening post-fermentation, it will more-or-less immediately restart fermentation. I would sweeten at the point of consumption; that way the yeast won't go back into suspension when they revive.

beginner said:

I drank from the fermenter by just putting a glass under the tap and pouring it. Of note, I mostly drank it in the form of Radler (mixed with coke) or speitze (mixed with sprite).

And please don't come here saying to quit or it's illegal or whatever...I know exactly what I'm doing...I appreciate the concern, but it's also not constructive in the least.

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Well, I for one don't care how constructive it is. You said you're above legal age, and you state that you are. If you act like you're not, however, we'll ask you to find a new forum where underaged winemakers are welcome. Here, we are making craft beers, wines, ciders, and meads, and are a pretty darn helpful group. If you choose to hang out in this forum, we ask you to abide by our rules. Not hard to do at all, but don't be an ass when we ask you to obey our rules.'

Since recreational marijuana use is illegal in the US, we also ask you to refrain from posting/talking/referring to such use, including the references on your profile page. Please remove those. Thanks.

In case I wasn't clear, bragging about fermenting in a dorm room probably indicates that you're underaged. Those commiserating and saying "me too" will also find themselves looking for a new forum.

Let me put it this way- if you're smart enough to subtract 21 from 2010, and don't act like an underaged kid, you'll probably fit in just fine. But once you start acting like someone who's underaged or suggest that you may be underaged, you won't be welcome here.

Just use this.

http://www.spikeyourjuice.com/

This is lame. Thanks for everyone who did offer real suggestions. How do you delete your account? Could a moderator do it for me please? BTW I'm 18 so there.

beginner said:

This is lame. Thanks for everyone who did offer real suggestions. How do you delete your account? Could a moderator do it for me please? BTW I'm 18 so there.

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You bet! I'll be glad to.

And I'm so glad you added the "so there". That is a beautiful and mature way to show your appreciation for making fermentables.

See you. So there.

Best thread in days!

beginner said:

I drank from the fermenter by just putting a glass under the tap and pouring it. Of note, I mostly drank it in the form of Radler (mixed with coke) or speitze (mixed with sprite).

And please don't come here saying to quit or it's illegal or whatever...I know exactly what I'm doing...I appreciate the concern, but it's also not constructive in the least.

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HA!
That is the funniest thing I think I've ever heard. Drinking straight outta the fermenter...no wonder you thought your beer tasted like crap, it was! It was uncarbonated and extremely green, and to make a statement like "I know exactly what I'm doing" makes me think that you are either purposely doing it wrong, or sorely mistaken. I'll say, I made a batch of cider with bakers yeast a couple months ago and thought it was good. Then I thought of how much better it would be with wine yeast, then how good of beer I could make and went straight to my LHBS and got what I needed.
And a big LOL to jbrookeiv with the 'spike' link.

MrWiggles said:

HA!
That is the funniest thing I think I've ever heard. Drinking straight outta the fermenter...no wonder you thought your beer tasted like crap, it was! It was uncarbonated and extremely green, and to make a statement like "I know exactly what I'm doing" makes me think that you are either purposely doing it wrong, or sorely mistaken. I'll say, I made a batch of cider with bakers yeast a couple months ago and thought it was good. Then I thought of how much better it would be with wine yeast, then how good of beer I could make and went straight to my LHBS and got what I needed.
And a big LOL to jbrookeiv with the 'spike' link.

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What a fun thread!

Btw, that Spike Your Juice stuff does work, and it's cheap as hell.

beginner said:

... Of note, I mostly drank it in the form of Radler (mixed with coke)

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The times I've been to Germany, I've always heard that Beer and Coke beverage coined "Kinder Bier" or Children's Beer. I'm just sayin'

I am thinking we have been trolled.

Like I said earlier, I am glad the internet was not available in my youth. Because I would be that guy.

juice, bakers yeast, brown sugar, and a condom. Made really ****ty alchohol that you had to be very desperate to drink.

Drinking straight from the fermenter? I bet that kid sh*t like a goose the next day.